What is the Biblical basis for a historicist reading of the seven churches in Revelation?

The second and third chapters of Revelation include a series of seven letters to seven churches in Asia. A historicist interpretation understands these seven churches as representing seven ages of church history. I'm interested in where this idea comes from. It is plain that the messages of the letters are relevant to a wider audience than the churches to whom each was originally addressed, since there is the repeated admonition, "he who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches". However, I don't see where in the text one would find a chronological understanding of the letters. **What is the Biblical argument used to support the interpretation of the seven letters representing seven successive stages of church history?**